One of the most impressive films of the year is Alfonso Cuarón’s Gravity, with digital production (the word post does not apply here), computer imagery and visual effects primarily provided by Framestore and lead by visual effects supervisor Tim Webber. Framestore has produced truly remarkable footage and done more than just enhance the story – their work is central to the story, the emotional isolation and drama of the film. fxguide’s Mike Seymour spoke at length with Webber about Gravity and we also highlight some of the other history, elements and computer controlled rigs in our in-depth coverage of one of the year’s most important visual effects films.

In addition to Framestore’s efforts on the film, Prime Focus partnered to help with the stereo conversion, although much of the digital footage was rendered in stereo. Rising Sun Pictures provided 17 shots, but given Cuarón’s trademark long continuous shots, those 17 shots accounted for over two and a half minutes of screentime (see more details below). Additional VFX work was carried out by Nhance, with scanning and LIDAR contributions from 4DMax, additional scanning by XYZ RGB, facial scanning by Lightstage and facial mocap by Mova.

The previs which was key to the film’s success was primarily done by Framestore but in partnership with The Third Floor. It was actually this collaboration that lead to the creation of The Third Floor London. This new company is actually a joint venture between Framestore and The Third Floor LA. The Third Floor London saw the two companies sharing staff, tools, skills and philosophies and an initial headquarters at Framestore’s Wells Street office.

via Gravity: vfx that’s anything but down to earth | fxguide.